GIFT  OF 
7  it     Ciia.kcnr' 


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LUIGI 

CARNOVALE 

Apostol  of  Humanity 
The  Modern  Idealist 


By 
ETHEL  TORREY  HIBBARD 


CHICAGO 


Compliments  of  the  Author 


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Luigi  Carnovale 

Apostol  of  Humanity 
The  Modern  Idealist 


By 
ETHEL  TORREY  HIBBARD  &**>C  h«  ** 


Chicago 
1922 


i  :  '•  •*.  v- *  :  ■•  • 


COPYRIGHT  1922 

ETHEL  TORREY  HIBBARD 

CHICAGO,  ILL. 


GENTRY-MAYHA.M    PRINTING    CO. 

120    POLK    STREET,    CHICAGO 


THERE  finally  came  to  pass  the  time  when  we  felt 
the  injustice  we  had  done  this  apparently  simple 
minded  man;  a  gradual  change  had  come  over  us;  a 
certain  hushed  feeling  gripped  us,  and  we  found  our 
locomotion  automatically  stopped.  In  a  dazed  way, 
unconscious  of  all  else  except  his  influence,  we  were 
accepting  his  theories  as  actual  material  for  the 
development  of  his  cherished  aspirations. 

We,  who  had  listened  for  months,  only  to  scoff,  to 
pity,  to  despise  even,  were  being  slowly  converted  to 
his  cause,  a  cause  that  had  seemed  to  us  to  be  a  vehicle 
only  for  self-aggrandizement. 

A  great  simplicity  and  frankness,  not  in  keeping  with 
the  politics  of  this  day  nor  amongst  those  who  exploit 
new  cults,  doctrines,  isms — seemingly  insufficient  armor 
to  meet  the  ever  suspicious,  cynical,  human  soul — 
issues  forth  a  doctrine  so  magnificently  daring  that  the 
impression  derived  is,  the  promulgator  is  clearly 
addle-pated. 

We  eventually  felt  the  power  of  his  psychic  superior- 
ity, insight,  quiet  force,  tremendous  poise,  and  faith 
in  himself,  as  weapons  with  which  to  convert  this  mad, 
commercial,  political  and  diplomatic  world.  We  had 
given  him  the  acid-test — our  contempt  for  his  colossal 
presumption.  In  many  of  the  following  impressions 
we  felt  the  lack  of  real  contact  with  the  world  in  which 
his  ideals   are   consumed,   a   superficial   summing-up 


478659 


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of  its  conditions,  a  child-like  resentment  and  faith  in 
his  ability  to  knock  over  the  blocks  and  rebuild  a  moral 
and  spiritually  redeeming  treasure-world. 

Suddenly  we  gasp,  realizing  our  injustice.  We  have 
to  congratulate  ourselves  that  he  was  not  stoned  from 
our  presence,  as  was  the  Nazarene,  who  so  modestly 
preached  to  the  unbelievers. 


ITALIAN  history  relates  the  invasion  of  Spanish 
tyranny  through  the  last  centuries,  and  tyranny  of 
the  Bourbons  throughout  the  southern  provinces. 
Here  it  was  that  the  Greek  exiles  set  up  one  of  the 
greatest  splendors  of  civilization.  In  Crotona,  for 
instance,  flourished  the  philosophical  school  of  Pytha- 
goras, the  birth-place  of  the  multiplication  table. 

The  moral  austerity  of  the  first  Republic  of  Rome, 
with  such  formidable  figures  as  Brutus,  Scipio,  Cato, 
the  Gracchi;  the  Italian  Renaissance  with  its  Dante, 
Michelangelo,  Palestrina,  Galileo,  and  the  subsequent 
modern  philosophy  created  by  the  southern  Italians, 
Bernardino  Telesio,  Giordano  Bruno,  and  Tommaso 
Campanella;  the  Risorgimento  of  the  present  Italy — 
compendiated  in  the  apostolate  of  Mazzini  and  in  the 
heroism  of  Garibaldi;  many  more  illuminating  periods 
and  personages,  to  which  we  cannot  lend  the  space,  have 
influenced  the  moral  and  spiritual  soul  of  Luigi  Carno- 
vale.  His  exaltation  of  Italy  is  as  though  the  present 
decadence  were  obliterated,  and  only  the  magnificence 
of  the  Italy  that  gave  birth  to  emperors,  warriors, 
philosophers,  poets,  artists,  scientists — the  Patria  that 


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gave  so  unsparingly  to  the  world  this  regal,  classic 
and  immortal  glory — it  is  this  influence  that  he  exalts 
and  begs  America  to  recognize. 

An  early  precocity  directed  him  to  follow  the  in- 
spirations and  teachings  of  the  philosopher  and  poet, 
Tommaso  Campanella,  a  martyr  of  the  region  of  Luigi 
Carnovale's  birthplace.  His  defense  of  this  philoso- 
pher sheds  a  picturesque  and  virile  tempest  to  his  life 
that  forebodes  interesting  results.  He  is  himself  a 
potential  poet  and  philosopher,  and  an  idealizer  of  his 
remotest  thought  as  well  as  his  boldest  theory. 

His  is  a  well  rounded  treatment  on  the  Italian- 
American  subject.  With  the  co-operation  of  the  Italian 
press,  he  makes  the  effort  to  fuse  into  this  fast  accumu- 
lating mass  a  need  for  education,  with  an  intelligent 
vindication  for  their  adoption  by  America;  a  solution 
for  bettering  their  condition,  and  impressing  them  with 
the  importance  of  the  advantages  given  them.  With- 
out compromise  he  scoffs  at  their  indolence;  their 
indifference  to  this  wealth  of  advantages  within  their 
reach.  These  people  represent  the  poorest  human 
product  of  their  glorious  nation — mother  country  of 
several  civilizations;  they  are  neither  a  proud  contri- 
bution of  Italy  to  America  nor  do  they  absorb  from 
America  the  best  it  has  to  offer.  He  expounds  volubly 
on  this  subject  and  does  it  with  a  frankness  and  well 
merited  rebuke — which  evidences  a  worth  of  his  own 
Americanism. 


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IUIGI  CARNOVALE  has,  for  several  years,  been  a 
J  resident  of  America.  He  spoke  only  his  native 
tongue  upon  his  arrival,  but  has  tenaciously  persevered 
until  his  mastery  of  English  has  reached  a  diction  pure 
and  stimulating.  His  endurance  of  the  immigrant's 
hardship  has  added  only  resolution  and  determination 
to  his  qualities.  Nothing  seems  too  complex,  venture- 
some or  difficult  for  his  deductions.  His  capacity  for 
perseverance  has  profited  him  a  fund  of  knowledge, 
socially  and  politically.  With  this  enviable  structure 
upon  which  to  build,  he  has  formed  rudiments  from 
his  own  amazing  diagnosis  that  cannot  but  cause  the 
world  to  gasp,  for  he  is  so  fundamentally  right,  and  his 
principles  are  founded  on  such  simplicity,  that  to  the 
superficial  thinker,  it  would  appear  to  be  the  ravings 
of  a  purely  quixotic  mind.  Paradoxically,  this  sim- 
plicity is  staggeringly  audacious  and  correct  from  a 
humanitarian  standpoint. 

He  sees  and  criticizes  the  evils  of  peoples,  and  ab- 
sorbs the  good,  the  best,  the  most  beautiful.  He  has 
no  prejudices  of  race  or  nationality — The  sun  is  his 
father,  the  earth  is  his  mother  and  all  humanity  his 
brother.  A  profound  conviction  consumes  him  in  the 
consecration  of  his  life  to  the  assistance  of  the  task  of 
uplifting  mankind. 

Ably  and  contemptuously  he  handles  our  so-called 
efforts  at  reformation.  Looks  upon  corruption  with  a 
jaundiced  eye  and  vigorously  resents  the  "reformer," 
gaging  him,  on  the  average,  to  be  as  cunning  as  the 
counterfeit  of  wisdom.  Has  an  unbiased  opinion  of 
personal  rights,  believing  that  humanity  should  choose 
its  own  personal  procedure  so  long  as  it  respects  the 
order  and  liberty  of  those  of  contending  opinion. 


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A  MAN  who  never  vacates,  voluntarily,  his  own 
subject  of  conversation.  To  him  the  usual  con- 
versational patter  is  what  Greek  would  be  to  most  of 
us.  His  subjects,  his  ideals,  are  paramount,  and  when 
they  are  not  in  the  ascendancy,  his  perspective  is 
slaughtered.  But  he  does  not  lack  a  remedy,  for  we 
have  often  seen  him  leapfrog  and  retake  his  own  sub- 
ject with  unerring  determination,  although  astounding 
for  the  instant.  His  curiosity  concerning  the  modern 
social  life  is  obviously  wide-eyed  youth — unsophistica- 
tion.  We  have  found  him  mentally  incapable  of  han- 
dling certain  questions  with  sanity  and  courage — 
modesty's  laurel.  To  the  recruiting  acquaintance,  his 
ofttimes  passionate  bursts  of  intensity  on  subjects, 
with  which  he  is  thoroughly  familiar,  give  him  a  tone 
of  an  egomaniac,  but  he  takes  the  peculiar  satisfac- 
tion of  one  who  has  succeeded  in  making  another  ex- 
ceedingly uncomfortable. 

Firmness  and  pluck  have  marked  his  attitude  in  the 
establishing  of  his  own  creeds,  and  with  bulldog 
tenacity  he  refuses  to  be  influenced  by  other  forces. 
He  "rides  the  whirlwind  and  directs  the  storm"  and 
has  the  courage  to  do  it  single  handed,  rather  than  to 
impose  himself  to  confusion  of  flattery  and  hypocritical 
attention  of  myriad  sycophants. 

A  philosopher  of  his  temperamental,  emotional  and 
passionate  nature,  so  bound  up  in  his  spiritual  affinities, 
is  apt  to  be  erratic,  especially  on  the  subject  of  uni- 
versal emancipation.  We  cool  Anglo-Saxons,  unless 
given  to  tolerance  and  judgment,  receive  the  impression 
of  rank  radicalism.    We  feel  that  such  emotion  should 


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be  lanced  and  treated  with  caution.  Luigi  Carnovale 
is  radical,  for  his  convictions  are  based  on  material 
that  comes  from  careful  investigation,  and  he  knows 
that  only  radical  measures  can  bring  to  pass  the  world's 
spiritual,  moral  and  political  rejuvenation. 


A  THREADBARE  platitude  that  religion  is  founded 
on  the  golden  rule  is  nevertheless  true  in  his  case. 
He  is  described  by  his  friends  as  an  atheist.  We  have 
noted,  in  spite  of  this,  a  delightful  weakness — a  re- 
spect for  his  Mother's  religion,  the  universal  one  of  his 
country.  His  theories  take  the  line  that  religion  has 
failed  through  the  centuries,  and  its  elements  of  avowed 
purification  are  today  equal  to  its  condition  in  its 
inception.  There  are  examples  of  men  who  have 
reached  the  very  pinnacle  of  perfection  and  success, 
ignoring  religious  philosophy  and  frankly  acknowledg- 
ing the  impotency  of  the  teachings  of  the  church. 
The  religious  and  state  institutions  are  full  of  iniquity 
and  injustice,  and  the  odor  of  sanctity  and  diplomacy 
is  wormwood  to  the  highminded  freethinker  who  so 
ardently  and  tenaciously  urges  decent  principles. 
Such  sustained  hypocrisies  make  for  the  raison  d'etre 
of  his  frank  atheism. 

We  have  stated  that  we  underestimated  him,  scorned 
his  plans.  Perhaps  much  of  this  was  due  to  his  personal 
appearance;  not  the  usual  Italian  type,  but  almost 
effeminate,  a  type  without  distinct  nationality;  fair; 
blue  eyes;  a  roached  mane  of  waving  iron-gray  hair; 
that,  with  chiseled  features  and  prominent  forehead, 
gives  him  a  composite  likeness  of  Byron  and  Beethoven ; 


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pale,  except  in  moments  of  vigorous  thought  and 
action,  when  his  features  suffuse  with  the  coloring  of 
a  healthy  school-girl.  Large,  well  modeled  mouth  and 
faultless  teeth;  medium  in  stature,  but  sturdy;  soft 
voice,  rather  womanishly  modulated;  white,  soft, 
fleshy  hands  with  a  forearm  indicating  surprising 
muscularity.  They  say  that  egotism  preserves  man 
like  ice  preserves  meat — certain  it  is  that  Luigi  Carno- 
vale  has  the  egotism  of  accepted  success,  and  this 
perhaps  accounts  for  his  youth,  despite  his  gray  locks 
and  impressive  philosophy. 

Daily  contact  and  close  association  unclothe  the 
human  character.  Affectation  and  superficialities 
unconsciously  slip,  and  reveal  the  weaknesses,  with 
which  we  would  not  have  the  world  familiar.  A 
personage  who  constantly  stands  before  the  public, 
who  bares  himself,  lays  himself  open  to  discussion, 
to  compromise,  must  be  heir  to  much  courage  and 
strength,  must  be  so  constituted  that  his  mind  be 
either  free  from  hypocrisies  and  deceit,  or  so  nimble 
and  capable  that  it  constantly  protects  its  omissions 
from  the  world's  sight.  The  weaknesses  of  a  high 
tensioned  temperament  readily  reveal  themselves,  but 
the  fabric  of  this  man's  qualities  is  woven  so  soundly 
that  it  approximates  sane  coordination  and  a  harmoni- 
ous adjustment. 


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II FE  is  essentially  a  serious  business  with  Luigi 
J  Carnovale.  Much  of  his  comedy  lies  framed  in 
sarcasm;  the  practical  joke  is  misinterpreted.  He 
takes  little  time  for  pleasure,  and  luxury  is  an  offense 
to  his  principles.  He  would  submit  to  privation  with 
little  indifference,  if  the  doing  would  promote  any 
revolution  for  betterment.  Frivolities  are  a  negligible 
quantity  in  his  alchemy. 

What  humble  adoration  consumes  him  for  the  con- 
vert who  voices  the  testimony  of  faith  in  his  doctrines! 
He  buries  himself  in  a  ritual  of  thanksgiving.  We  have 
seen  him  fly  into  a  rapture  of  sentimentality  as  easily 
as  a  schoolgirl  for  her  movie-hero. 

He  has  a  fear  of  pain  that  would  brand  him  if  his 
qualities  were  not  understood,  but  his  tenderness  and 
sweetness  and  sincere  brotherhood  to  the  suffering, 
the  humble,  the  poor,  is  Godlike.  An  instance  of  his 
benefactions:  A  poor  fellow  came  persistently  under 
his  notice,  ragged  and  unkempt.  He  had  watched  him 
but  had  yet  to  see  him  beg.  On  each  occasion  the 
fellow  stood  gazing  into  windows  where  there  were 
displays  of  food.  This  proved  too  much  for  the  spirit 
to  bear,  and  on  a  cold  morning,  Luigi  Carnovale,  with 
a  quaking  but  determined  spirit,  approached  the 
fellow  with  apprehensive  solicitude,  begging  him  to 
step  into  the  building  entrance,  which  he  did.  Without 
further  to  do,  Luigi  Carnovale  removed  the  contents 
from  the  pockets  of  his  own  great  coat  and  placed 
instead  a  bill  of  generous  denomination.  Handing 
the  coat  to  the  fellow,  he  admonished  him  to  "move 
along;"  while  he,  himself,  hurried  on  to  his  destination 


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with  a  countenance  cast  down  and  sensitive,  but 
obviously  with  a  feeling  that  he  had  given  succor  to 
real  distress. 

We  can  not  escape  reference  to  one  other  characteris- 
tic, apropos  of  this;  we  challenge  his  wisdom  but  know 
that  it  is  born  of  a  transplendency  of  soul.  A  fervor, 
incompatible  with  prudence  and  caution,  overwhelms 
him  for  those  who  evidence  their  love  and  confidence, 
and  his  generosity  is  played  with  out  of  proportion 
with  the  corespective  —  the  fawning,  wheedling 
unctuousness  of  the  flatterer.  His — "the  social  smile, 
the  sympathetic  tear."  Ah  Praise,  what  mean  ad- 
vantage is  taken  in  thy  name!  For  the  poor,  the 
humble,  the  beggar,  the  sycophant,  he  is  "adversity's 
sweet  milk." 


THERE  has  been  a  monument  erected  to  Luigi 
Carnovale  in  America  that  will  long  sustain  his 
name.  Through  his  initiative  the  Italians  of  the 
United  States  have  presented  to  the  leading  univer- 
sities a  magnificent  replica  of  the  original  manuscript 
of  Dante's  Divine  Comedy — The  Codice  Trivul- 
ziano.  While  thanks  are  in  order  to  the  collective 
Italians,  the  bulk  is  certainly  due  Luigi  Carnovale. 
His  capacity  for  constructing  the  arrangement  and 
distribution  of  this  gift;  his  labor,  his  time,  and  the 
heavy  personal  expense  of  this  great  mass  of  priceless 
volumes,  have  been  features  not  even  the  Italians 
who  contributed  have  realized.  But  there  has  been 
left  no  doubt  that  our  universities  are  mindful  of  the 
precious  value  of  this  rare  gift,  for  there  has  come  a 


14  Side  Lights 


deluge  of  tributes,  sincere  and  whole-hearted,  magnifi- 
cently expressed,  from  presidents,  faculties,  and  in- 
dividuals which  is  a  copious  satisfaction,  and  a  reward 
that  is  soundly  merited. 

Amongst  his  various  contributions  given  to  the 
world  is  an  exposition  of  an  important  chapter  in 
history,  the  Arms  Conference  in  Washington.  Follow- 
ing the  reception  of  his  scholarly  work,  Why  Italy 
Entered  into  the  Great  War,  there  came  a  lull  in  his 
endeavors.  With  the  unfoldment  of  this  conference 
Luigi  Carnovale  presented  to  the  diplomatic  corps, 
and  to  an  interested  world,  his  prophecy  The  Dis- 
armament Conference  at  Washington  will  be  a  Failure. 
To  us  who  were  intimately  associated  with  him,  it 
seemed  a  colossal  piece  of  presumption  and  audacity. 
We  wish  to  touch  on  this  only  to  substantiate  our  first 
observation — that  we  are  his  converts.  The  world 
knows  how  flat  was  the  result — the  conference  that 
opened  with  such  fireworks  and  with  what  seemed  to 
us  to  be  a  heel  on  Luigi  Carnovale's  foresight.  We 
have  before  us  now  a  periodical  which  refers  to  this 
Washington  Conclave  as  "the  poor  old  mouldy  fly- 
blown Washington  Conference."  A  noteworthy  ob- 
server states  in  this  fashion:  "The  conference,  which 
has  gone  on  for  more  than  eleven  weeks,  has  not  one 
big  achievement  in  definite,  final  form." 

Luigi  Carnovale  gives  a  striking  analysis  of  the 
causes  that  provoke  wars,  and  his  opinion  of  how  they 
can  be  prevented.  His  conviction  is  that  the  means 
devised,  up  to  the  present,  are  ineffective,  and  that 
the  League  of  Nations  has  never  done  anything  to 


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allay  the  distemper  of  opposing  nations.  He  gives  us 
most  convincingly  a  brilliant  discussion  of  "Human 
Solidarity,"  a  study  well  synthetized  in  its  title,  Only 
by  the  Abolition  of  Neutrality  Can  War  Be  Quickly 
and  Forever  Prevented.  This  deserves  the  attention 
of  governments  and  peoples  that  it  has  received,  if  we 
are  to  believe  that  the  world  really  wishes  the  advent 
of  universal,  perennial  peace. 

IN  passing,  it  will  not  be  superfluous  to  pay  tribute 
to  an  influence  in  Luigi  Carnovale's  life — to  a  worthy 
brother  and  apostle,  Vincenzo  Carnovale,  beautiful 
evidences  of  an  affection,  concurrent  with  many  another 
noble  characteristic.  The  sea  separates  them,  but  this 
disjunction  adds  only  fervor  to  their  correlation. 
Vincenzo  is  as  a  right  arm  to  Luigi,  although  theirs  are 
doctrines  of  diverging  and  variant  ideas  (perhaps  more 
apparent  than  substantial).  However,  "My  brother — 
right  or  wrong — my  brother  still." 

Vincenzo  Carnovale  is  a  resident  of  Stilo,  Reggio 
di  Calabria,  their  native  birthplace.  A  lawyer  of 
prominence,  and  in  this  capacity  an  auxiliary  to  the 
cause  for  which  Luigi  Carnovale  stands.  This  brother 
has  the  practical  qualifications,  the  fitness,  the  tour 
de  force  to  council  wise'y  in  the  developments  of  his 
poet-brother's  ideals;  and  with  a  heart  to  conceive, 
an  understanding  to  direct,  a  hand  to  execute,  they 
form  a  union  rarely  met,  and  bear  promise  of  the  exe- 
cution of  any  undertakings  that  may  surcharge  them. 
In  a  recent  article  from  the  "Giornale  d'ltalia,"  of 
Rome,  came  the  statement,  "Vincenzo  Carnovale  is  a 
noble  custodian  of  the  ideals  of  his  brother,"  voiced 
by  the  Belgian  philosopher,  Antoine  Bruers. 


16  Side  Lights 


THESE  brief,  miscellaneous  impressions  of  a  man, 
foreign,  strangely  idealistic ;  a  man  imbued  with  a 
potential  urge  of  ambition,  who  with  his  florid  tem- 
perament can  be  so  easily  misunderstood,  are  written 
as  our  vindication.  We  have  confronted  a  collection  of 
sidelights  on  a  single  man  whose  chief  ambition  is  to 
promote  a  plan  of  cleaning  the  political,  economic  and 
social  arena  of  its  stench  of  the  cesspool.  In  this 
garbled  industrial  age,  such  courage  and  perseverance 
to  an  ideal  has  a  cathartic  virtue,  and  we  pray  that  it 
will  carry  a  triumphant  answer  to  the  farthest  corner 
of  the  earth. 

After  all,  it  is  the  spiritual  touch  that  gives  us  the 
most  tangible  happiness,  and  we  wish  that  the  domin- 
ant selfishness  and  ill-gotten  power  of  our  present 
leaders  could  be  obliterated,  and  that  we  could  have 
injected  the  influences  of  greater  brotherhood  and  the 
principles  of  higher  minded  and  more  honest  dealing 
men. 

Luigi  Carnovale  blazes  a  trail  that  gives  us  a  radiant 
hope. 


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AFTER  THOUGHTS 

It  is  the  Author's  pleasure  to  mention  herewith  a  few 

of  the   contributions  given  to  the  world  by   Luigi 

Carnovale: — 

A  Visit  to  the  Artist  Andrea  Cefaly 

My  Mother 

The  Dream  of  Francesco 

Journalism  of  Italian  Emigrants  in  America 

Why  Italy  Entered  Into  the  Great  War 

Only  By  the  Abolition  of  Neutrality  Can  War  Be  Quickly 

and  Forever  Prevented 
The  Disarmament  Conference  at  Washington  Will  Be  a  Failure 

IN  PREPARATION: 

The  Formation  of  the  Italian  Character 
Tommaso  Campanella 
The  Omnipotents 

We  know  his  admirers  are  legion — his  sympathizers 
who  would  his  disciples  be.  Courage,  intelligence, 
understanding,  vision,  and  ability  to  popularize.  Un- 
equivocal honesty  and  indissolvable  faith  constitute 
the  necessary  attributes  of  this  corps  d'armee. 

We  want  this  beautiful  world,  into  which  we  are 
submerged  for  so  short  a  time,  to  give  us  fruits  of 
sweeter  eating. 

The  tyranny  of  the  crafty,  the  cunning  of  the  arti- 
ficial, the  knavery  of  politics,  the  greed  of  the  com- 
mercial, the  back-stairs  influence — we  want  to  render 
null. 

Luigi  Carnovale  is  sowing  the  seeds.  Through  his 
policy  the  world  should  propagate  and  bear  us  a 
richer  harvest  of  leaders.  We  need  such  facile  pens  and 
penetrative,  constructive  minds  to  incubate  the  seem- 
ingly impossible  conversion,  and  irradicate  from  our 
minds  the  necessity  of  submitting  to  the  artificial 
conditions  as  they  exist  today. 


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